Light from the Dark
by Dawn of Dusk
Summary: When Laniwen is falsely imprisoned for theft, she walks right into the middle of an assassination and is sent off on a quest that snowballs into an epic adventure. Oblivion. Follows the Main Quest and multiple sidequests. Pairings undecided as of now.
1. Jailbreak

"Oh, come _on_! I already told you, I'm not your damn thief!" I shook the bars of the prison door again. No dice. Guess they weren't coming back. Wonderful.

Well, this day had sucked. I hadn't been in the Imperial City fifteen minutes before I got falsely accused of thievery. It wasn't my fault that asshole had decided to run by and shove that stolen merchandise into my hands.

Oh, and I had a neighbor too, it seemed. Even _better_!

"Well now, a pretty little Wood Elf. You're a little far from the forest, huh?" came the jeering voice of a Dunmer in the cell across from mine.

"Oh, go to Oblivion!" I yelled back, kicking at the dirt for emphasis. I walked to the stone wall at the back of the cell, sat down, and made myself as comfortable as one could get in a prison cell, ignoring the rest of the Dunmer's yells, which included a lot about how I would die in here.

Nothing like getting thrown in prison to make you think about your life, even if you didn't do anything wrong. I put my head in my hands and rubbed my temples. Honestly, I felt like crying, but no way was I going to do that with that obnoxious Dunmer watching.

There had to be some way to sort this out. I had tried to explain to the guards what had happened, but they were having none of that today, it seemed. Nope, right to prison for me.

I thought I had come to Cyrodiil to make a better life for myself than I could in Valenwood, but that obviously wasn't going to be the case, now was it?

In my head, I pondered over and over about how I could possibly get myself out of this awful situation.

And then, just as quickly as my terrible situation begun, it ended. Someone was approaching my cell door. I looked up to see a regally-dressed man being guarded by three heavily armed soldiers. He didn't notice me, instead being concerned about other things.

"My sons… they're dead, aren't they?" he asked one of the soldiers with a heavy sigh.

"We don't know that yet, Sire. The messenger only said they were attacked," the soldier, a woman judging from the voice, answered. I stood up quietly, watching the scene.

"No, they're dead. I know it," he said miserably.

The woman spoke up again. "My job now is to get you to safety." She then noticed me, and I put my hands up in a surrendering gesture, indicating that I wasn't going to hurt anyone. I didn't plan on getting killed anytime soon.

"What's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off-limits!" she demanded.

"Unusual mixup with the Watch, I…" another soldier answered, clearly grasping for straws.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind. Get that gate open," she ordered. Her eyes flicked over to me. "Stand back, prisoner. We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way." I complied with her request. There was no way I was going against three people who could kill me with their bare hands if they so wanted.

The cell opened, and the soldiers entered. A third soldier ordered me to stay put as the woman led the regally-dressed man into my cell. What in Oblivion was going on?

"Good, let's go. We're not out of this yet," the woman said.

The regally-dressed man walked over to me. "You… I've seen you…" he said, stepping closer. "Let me see your face…"

Me? I was sure I had never seen this man before in my life. I mean, he was obviously someone important, or he wouldn't be surrounded by three heavily-armed guards. But that was all I knew.

"You are the one from my dreams…" he finished. What? Now that made no sense at all. "Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength."

I decided to speak up. "Uh, what's going on?" I asked.

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads right through your cell," he explained.

I nodded. "I see. Er, who are you, exactly?"

If the man was offended by my question, he didn't show it. "I am your Emperor, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler."

Oh. I was standing in front of the Emperor of my country. Well, shit.

"You are a citizen of Tamriel and you, too, shall serve her in your own way," he continued.

"Why am I in jail?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet," he answered. I shrugged; it was as good an answer as any, really. "As for what you have done… it does not matter. That is not what you will be remembered for."

"What should I do?" I asked.

"You will find your own path. Take care… there will be blood and death before the end," Uriel Septim answered. Kinda vague, but sure, I could totally do that. I could deal with blood. I could deal with death… hopefully.

My little conversation with the Emperor was interrupted by the woman. "Please, sire, we must keep moving," she urged, opening a secret passage in the wall. Oh yeah, there was that whole assassin thing going on…

The woman was the first to enter, the others following suit.

"Don't try anything. I'm watching you," warned the second soldier as he passed me.

The third soldier, who had been quiet up until now, was a little more cheerful than his friend. "Looks like this is your lucky day," he joked, rushing to join the other two. "Just stay out of our way."

Okay, so I was getting out of jail less than five minutes after I got in. Sweet!

I fell into step behind the soldiers, standing close, but not too close. I was unarmed, but they were still watching me.

I didn't expect us all to get ambushed so quickly though. A group of assassins in strange red and black armor appeared from more or less nowhere and charged us.

"Protect the Emperor!" the woman exclaimed, rushing forward. Uriel Septim drew his blade and stepped in front of me, motioning for me to back up since I was unarmed. How ironic; the Emperor protecting the prisoner.

The fight was a blur of gray and red and black. By the end of it, there were a bunch of dead assassins… and one dead soldier. It was the woman. I frowned. Although I had known her literally five minutes, I was still sad to see her go. She seemed like a good person.

However, this presented me with an opportunity. I grabbed the fallen woman's sword up off the ground, and grabbed a spare sword next to it just in case. There was a cloth bag lying in the corner of the room, which I stuffed the spare blade in and slung over my shoulder. Neither of the soldiers seemed to mind me grabbing a sword. I guess they figured if I was going to attack them, I would have done it by now, weapon or not.

Yeah, there was no way I was going to go up against assassins unarmed. I didn't know much about sword-fighting, but it was better than having no weapon at all.

The two remaining soldiers seemed more worried about the Emperor than me, anyway.

"Are you all right, sire? We're clear, for now," the second soldier asked.

Uriel Septim looked down at the woman on the ground, frowning. "And Captain Renault?"

The third soldier sighed. "She's dead. I'm sorry, sire, but we have to keep moving."

"How could they be waiting for us here?" the second soldier wondered out loud.

"Don't know. But it's too late to go back now," the third soldier replied. "Don't worry, sire, we will get you out of here," I certainly hoped they would too. I had no personal stake in this fight, but from what I knew, Uriel Septim was a pretty decent Emperor, and I didn't want to see him die.

"They won't be the first to underestimate the Blades," the second soldier commented, opening a gate. "I'll take point. Let's move."

"You stay here, prisoner. Don't try to follow us," the third soldier ordered. The three men disappeared through the gate and I was left alone with my thoughts.

Stay there? Yeah, forget that! There was no way I was hanging around if this place was crawling with assassins. I needed to find another way out. A rumbling sound alerted me to the fact that a portion of the wall had crumbled, revealing another secret passageway behind it. Two giant rats rushed at me from it. Ew. I swung my sword at them bunch of times, hoping that would take care of them. Thankfully, it did.

Judging by the skeleton with the bow laying in plain sight of the entrance, this passageway hadn't been used for a very long time. Even though I was a terrible shot (I had always thought it ironic; a Bosmer who wasn't a good archer), I took the bow and looted the skeleton of its armor. He'd been dead for years; he didn't need it. The skeleton didn't have much, only some arrows, a leather cuirass, a lockpick, and a few Septims. Sweet, money.

I noticed a more recently dead goblin near a wooden door. I tried not to look at it as I attempted to open the door. Damn, it was locked. I glanced over at the dead goblin, then back at the door. Maybe… ugh. Goblins were so gross and creepy, but I had to try.

I looked the body over for a key or something. I had been right, the goblin did have the key. He had also had some more gold, another lockpick, and a healing potion. I took everything and unlocked the door. Finally, I was getting somewhere!

I made my way through the passageway, fighting off rats, goblins, and… zombies? Well, I hadn't been expecting that. They were certainly creepy enough. By looting skeletons and chests, I managed to come away with a full set of mixed iron and leather armor, plus a few more potions and some trinkets I could sell in town. Obviously, the armor wasn't a perfect fit, but it made me feel better about having to fight off monsters. I had never really enjoyed the combat part of traveling, but it was a necessary one. Either you fought, hired people to fight for you, or you died. Simple as that.

My stomach growled. When was the last time I ate? Hopefully, I could buy some food after I got out of this damn prison and sold some of the extra stuff I found here.

My thoughts wandered back to the Emperor and his guards. I hoped they were doing okay.

"… protect the Emperor until help arrives." Well, speak of the Daedra and the Daedra shall appear. There they were! And it looked like all three of them were still alive. It was a shame about Renault, though… I looked at her sword, which now sat in my hand, covered in monster blood.

Before they could do anything, though, more assassins attacked. Well, looked like it was time for me to come out of my hiding place. I took my sword and rushed forward, swinging at the nearest assassin until he fell dead. No casualties on "our" side this time, thankfully.

The soldiers weren't too happy to see me, however. The second soldier drew his sword and started toward me.

"Dammit, it's that prisoner again! Kill her, she might be working with the assassins!" he ordered. The third soldier nodded and drew his own sword, walking towards me as well.

I wasn't going to go down without a fight, though I was probably still going to go down. I raised my sword and-

"No. She is not one of them," came the calm voice of Uriel Septim. Thanks. "She can help us. She must help us."

What? Well, okay. I had been planning on helping them anyway; I was a decent person. I sheathed my sword, and the soldiers sheathed theirs.

"As you wish, sire," the second soldier said, with a hint of reluctance in his voice.

I was thoroughly confused as to why Uriel Septim of all people was standing up for me, but I wasn't about to complain.

"They cannot understand why I trust you," Uriel Septim explained. Hell, _I _couldn't understand why he trusted me! "They've not seen what I've seen. How can I explain? Listen. You know the Nine? How They guide our fates with an invisible hand?"

I nodded. "The Nine guide and protect us," I recited. I really didn't think all that much about it, but it was what I had been told my entire life.

"I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycles of the heavens. The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each a fire, and every one a sign. The signs I read show the end of my path. My death, a necessary end, will come when it will come," the Emperor stated.

"What about me?" I wondered.

Uriel Septim smiled kindly. "Your stars are not mine. They are yours and yours alone."

"Aren't you afraid to die?" I asked.

The wise Emperor shook his head. "No trophies of my triumphs precede me. But I have lived well, and my ghost shall rest easy. Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom,but not the hour. In this I am blessed to see the hour of my death… To face my apportioned fate, then fall."

Wow, that was… really deep. It made sense, though, in a really depressing way. "Where are we going?"

"I go to my grave," Uriel Septim replied solemnly. "A tongue shriller than all the music calls me. You shall follow me yet for a while, then we must part."

"Alright," I said sadly. All this talk of death was making me depressed. The soldiers introduced themselves, finally. The second soldier introduced himself as Glenroy and the third soldier's name was Baurus. I'd have to say I liked Baurus more than Glenroy. He was a lot more pleasant. Baurus explained what was going on and why they were down there. He also designated me official torch-bearer, which was fine by me.

We walked a little further, going through yet more assassins until we came to a locked gate that they couldn't open. An alternate route pointed out by Baurus turned out to be a dead end. All hope looked lost. Baurus and Glenroy ran off to take care of the assassins that had followed us, leaving me alone with the Emperor. He turned to me.

"I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. He must not have the Amulet of Kings! Take the Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion," he said, slipping the red-jeweled amulet off of his neck and handing it to me. I quickly slipped it into my boot, where I knew it would be safe.

Tears began to well up in my eyes as I took in everything he just said to me. "Your Amulet? Then this is goodbye?"

The Emperor smiled sadly. "This is where my journey ends. For you though, the road is long and dangerous. Now, give me your hand."

He took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The tears escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. "Please, Your Majesty. D-don't…"

"Dear child, please do not cry for my fate. I have lived a long and fulfilling life. What matters is what happens after it ends."

"With all my heart… farewell…" I said in barely more than a whisper.

He gave my hand one last squeeze before releasing it. "Stand true, my friend. May your heart be your guide and the gods grant you strength."

The assassins were upon us. I drew my sword, but there were just too many of them. I saw the Emperor fall to the ground beside me, dead.

I felt nothing but rage. I thrust my blade through the assassin in front of me and quickly turned it on the one who killed the Emperor. Both were dead in seconds.

As the haze cleared and I calmed down, my rage was replaced with a deep sadness. I sank to my knees in front of the Emperor's body, put my head in my hands, and began to sob. Emperor Uriel Septim was the first friendly face I had seen in a good long time. I hadn't had much kindness since I left Valenwood. He had been genuinely helpful and trusting towards me, and now he was gone. And it was my fault.

I heard footsteps running toward me, but was relieved when it was only Baurus. Glenroy was not with him. The look on Baurus' face told me why that might have been.

"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed, falling to the Emperor's side to check for a pulse, looking at me when he could find none. "What happened?"

I told Baurus the story between sobs. I told him about the Amulet, about the final heir, about Jauffre, everything.

"I-I'm so sorry, sir. T-there was n-nothing I could d-do!" I sobbed after my explanation was done.

"There's no need for you to be sorry, prisoner. This was my failure, not yours," Baurus said gently, in an attempt to comfort me. Even the way he said 'prisoner' sounded like an affectionate nickname rather than a harsh title.

"I still I wish I could have done something," I said, finally willing my tears to stop.

"I know you do. But you can do something now. You can take that Amulet to Jauffre. He lives at Weynon Priory, which isn't too far south from the city of Chorral. And then you can find the last heir and restore order to Cyrodiil," Baurus explained.

I nodded. "Understood, sir. Thank you for you reassuring words," I said. If Emperor Uriel Septim was first friendly face I had seen since I arrived in Cyrodiil, then Baurus was the second. I made a mental note to not let anything happen to him either.

"Of course. Now, I would go with you if I could, but I have to stay here and guard the Emperor's body. Thank you for your help, er… I don't think I ever got your name, and I'm pretty sure it isn't 'Prisoner'," he said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

I smiled. "I'm Laniwen." I said.

"Laniwen. Got it. Now here, take this," he said, handing me a key. "It will get you into the sewers. Don't worry about me, I have a spare."

"Thanks. Really though, thank you. For believing in me," I said.

"You can thank the Emperor. And you can think him by finding Jauffre," Baurus instructed.

I nodded. "Right," I said, starting for the sewer gate. I then remembered something. I loosened the scabbard tied around my waist and took it off. "This was Captain Renault's. I'm sure the rest of the Blades would like it back."

Baurus smiled, taking the sword from me. "Thank you. I'll make sure it's given a place of honor in the halls of the Blades."

I turned and left the room, leaving Baurus and my old life behind me.

I fought my way through rats and more goblins before finally making it out of the sewers. The sun was blindingly bright in my eyes and I wondered what time it was.

The water stretching out in front of me looked so inviting, and I decided that the first order of business was to get this sewer muck off of me. No way was I going back into the Imperial City looking like I did.

I don't know how long I spent in the water. All I knew was that I didn't want to get out, but I was starting to get cold. I got out, got my things together, and began trudging up the hill towards the Imperial City.

I rented a room at Luther Broad's Boarding House and sat down at the bar for a little while. What I needed was a plan. I knew I needed to get to Weynon Priory, but it wasn't a good idea to just go off rushing there without knowing what to do first.

I ordered a meal and a glass of wine and started scribbling a rough plan on a spare piece of parchment someone else had left behind.

Okay, so if I wanted to go anywhere at a decent rate, I'd need a horse. And horses cost money. If I were a less honest person, I would have just stolen one, but that wasn't really how I operated.

If I wanted to survive more than five minutes on the road, I'd also need decent armor, not just stuff I scavenged off of dead people. I wanted to forgo heavy armor for the sake of maneuverability, though.

For weapons, I decided that a sword was fine. I wasn't going to try maces or axes; too heavy. And I decided I might as well keep a bow with me. Even though I was terrible at it, a weapon was a weapon. It was probably going to spent most of its time dismantled in my bag, however. Maybe I could just stab people with the arrows.

I knew I couldn't carry too much with me; I was just one tiny Bosmer girl, after all.

Okay, what was I missing? Oh, right. Food. Food was going to be important, too.

Alright, so I had a plan. But there was one problem: things cost money, and I was no thief. I still had some of the things I had looted from the underground passage, but that wasn't going to net me much. If anything, it was probably going to cover food and some armor.

"Hey, Luther, can I ask you something?" I said, calling the again boarding house owner over.

"Sure, Miss. What is it?"

"How can someone make money honestly in this city?" I asked.

Luther sat down. "Hmm, depends on what you can do. If you can fight, you might as well try your hand at the Arena. Kinda risky, though. If you're feeling lucky, you can bet on a match instead. You could go adventuring and sell your spoils to the local shopkeepers, though you'll be at the mercy of whoever you run into out there," he explained.

None of that sounded fun at all. "Thanks. I guess I'll try betting on the Arena tomorrow." After I finished my meal and wine, I trudged up the stairs with all of my stuff and collapsed in bed.

Sleep did not come as easily as I thought it would. After everything I had gone through today, I thought I would fall asleep as soon as I stopped, but thoughts of the fallen Emperor refused to leave my head. I had witnessed one of the biggest political events of the era first-hand. A good, honest man was dead and there had been nothing I could do about it.

I sat up and pulled the Amulet of Kings from my boot. It shone dully in the torchlight from the streets. I didn't know why it was so important, but I wasn't about to break my promise to the Emperor. Not after he set me free and showed me kindness. I stuffed the Amulet back inside my boot and flopped back down on the bed.

Somewhere out there in Cyrodiil, there was apparently another Septim heir. I wondered who he was and if he knew about his heritage.

Eventually, I fell into a restless sleep, plagued by nightmares of assassins dressed in red, with fire burning everywhere.

* * *

Well, there's the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

A little bit about Laniwen. She's a Bosmer, Scout class, born under the sign of The Thief. She's twenty-four years old and five feet, six inches tall. She's generally a law-abiding citizen, so don't expect the Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood questlines. She's an aspiring alchemist.


	2. The Arena

I awoke to chaos raging in the streets. Apparently, news about the Emperor's assassination had gotten out. I just hoped I wasn't in that news.

I sleepily grabbed my bag and started down the stairs. Luther Broad was at the bottom, a serious look on his face.

"The Emperor was assassinated yesterday," he informed me solemnly as I took a seat at the bar.

Of course, I already knew this. I put on my best shocked face. "What? No!" I exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so," he said, returning to his normal post behind the bar. Thankfully, our conversation was cut short by another patron who entered and began conversing with Luther. I ordered another meal (no wine this time) and ate quickly, slipping out before anyone else entered.

The streets were bursting with people, all trying to figure out what had happened to their beloved Emperor. I saw one of the men who distributed the Black Horse Courier getting mobbed by civilians. Judging by the sheer amount of people who were here, I imagined the whole city was a madhouse right now. I didn't even want to try the Market District right now.

Instead, I headed down Green Emperor Way to the Arena District. This area was significantly less packed with people, probably because they were more interested in the assassination than Arena matches.

I passed by the bookie, who was currently taking bets for the next match. The doors leading up to the stands were not locked, and no one objected to me opening them, so I assumed I was allowed to go up there.

Matches were... bloody, to say the least. But oddly enough, they looked like fun. If you weren't the one that lost, that was.

After the match, I went down to the bookie, who was still standing in the same spot as before. "Excuse me, but how does someone join the Arena?"

The bookie pointed to the door on the other side. "You go down to the Bloodworks and talk to the Blademaster, Owyn. It's not a decision to take lightly, though. To lose is to die," he replied.

"Right... thanks," I said. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and opened the door to the Bloodworks. Why the hell not? I knew it was a stupid thing to do so soon after getting such an important task, but I needed the money for equipment somehow.

I knew I could easily die. But it would certainly be a hell of a lot better of a death than dying to bandits because I was unprepared.

I noticed that the Bloodworks was a lot less crowded with people than I thought it was going to be. There was a Dunmer practicing archery near the entrance, a strange-looking Orc who was absorbed in his sword training, an unfriendly-looking woman standing in front of a punching bag, and two people on either side of her who looked like they were the ones in charge here.

I went to the Redguard man on the woman's right first. "Er, excuse me?"

The man raised an eyebrow quizzically. "I don't know who you are, friend, but you've got about ten seconds to tell me what you're doing in my Bloodworks before I lop your arms off," he threatened calmly. Well, that hadn't been the greeting I had been expecting.

I raised my arms up in a defensive gesture. "I don't mean you any disrespect, sir! I was just looking for the Blademaster," I said, really hoping he wouldn't kill me.

The man's expression softened, but only a bit. "You're looking at him. Name's Owyn. What do you want?"

Wow, rude. "I was wondering if you were taking any new fighters," I asked.

Owyn nodded. "We're always looking for fresh blood. But you, kid? I'm not sure you've got what it takes."

That was a little less surprising to hear. I still wanted to join though. "I-I can fight!" I exclaimed.

"Never said you couldn't, though _now_ I am. You got a name, kid?" Owyn retorted.

"Laniwen, sir," I answered.

Owyn shook his head. "That's great, but your name is now Pit Dog, Pit Dog," he said without any trace of a smile. "Welcome to the Blue Team. Would you like to fight using a Light Raiment or a Heavy Raiment?"

"Light, please," I said without thinking.

"Figures," the Blademaster commented as he reached inside a cabinet, pulled out a set of armor, and tossed it at me. I caught it rather ungracefully. "Put that on and go train. I want to see you in a match today, Pit Dog."

I nodded, fully aware that I was way in over my head and that today could very well have been the last day of my life. After retreating into a corner of the Bloodworks where no one could see me, I changed into my light raiment and surveyed the room. There were a few weapons laying around, but none of them looked any better than the steel shortsword I carried.

"Welcome to the Arena, Pit Dog!" a voice came from behind me. I jumped and whirled around to face the Dunmer I had seen earlier.

"O-oh, hi there," I replied.

The Dunmer grinned. "Nice to make your acquaintance. I'm... well, my name's not important, really. I'm another combatant in the Arena. Gladiator rank." Well, he was certainly friendlier than the _last_ Dunmer I had run into.

"Oh, so there are ranks," I said intelligently. Way to go, genius.

The Dunmer chuckled. "You have much to learn, my friend. I overheard Owyn saying he wants you to fight today. He usually doesn't send in fresh blood that fast, but he hasn't been in a very good mood lately," he remarked.

"Nice to know I'm the person he's taking his anger out on. It's not like this threatens my life in anyway," I replied sarcastically.

"I like the way you think, Pit Dog. How would you like to spar with me before your first match? We can't have our newest member going in there without warming up, now can we?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why are you being so nice?" I asked in return.

The Gladiator shrugged. "Teammate camaraderie, I'm a nice guy, the Blue Team hasn't had a decent victory in months, some combination of the three. Mostly the last one, though," the Gladiator answered with a sly grin.

I could definitely find myself getting along with this guy. No, not like that! In a drinking buddy sort of way. I drew my steel shortsword. "All right then, let's get to work," I said.

I don't know how long we sparred, but it certainly helped. The Blue Team Gladiator gave me a lot of pointers about how Arena fights worked, and I felt like I had certainly gotten better at sword fighting.

"Hey, Pit Dog!" Owyn barked. I knew he meant me.

I walked over to where he was. "Yes, sir?"

"It's time for your first match. You're going up against a Bosmer from the Yellow Team. Fights with a sword. Pretty straightforward. Don't die. I'm opening the gates to the Red Room. I assume your Gladiator friend over there explained the rules to you?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir," I answered.

"Alright, now go out there and beat the Yellow Team!" Owyn exclaimed.

I rushed over to the Red Room... and stopped short. Okay, I could see why they called it the Red Room. There was blood everywhere. On the floor, smeared onto the walls, and – was that blood on the ceiling? I felt a little sick to my stomach.

"Grisly sight, isn't it?" the Gladiator from earlier had materialized next to me somehow. "I remember my first match. I was scared to death. But I still won, and here I am today. You'll do just fine."

"I certainly hope so," I said, smiling weakly although I felt like I was about to be sick. I began the slow walk up the Red Room ramp to the Arena battlefield. The bloody handprints on the door certainly didn't do anything to help my morale.

"Good luck, my friend. May your blade always strike true! And first," my Dunmer friend called after me with a chuckle. I reached the door, straightened my helmet, took another deep breath, and pushed it open.

My ears were greeted by the deafening sound of cheering. It was hard to believe that only a few short hours ago, I was up in those stands contributing to that cheering. Now I was here, and I was going to die. This had been a terrible idea. I should have just gone adventuring instead.

There was no turning back now, however. I shakily approached the gate, staring out at the Arena battlefield. I drew my sword, and waited as the announcer did his speech. Looking over at the other side of the Arena, I could see that my opponent, a young Bosmer girl very much like myself, looked just as scared as I felt.

And then the gates lowered. Any trace of fear on the other Bosmer's face turned to determination, and she rushed forward, sword in hand. I did the same, my heart pounding in fear the entire time. We met in the middle, swords clashing. I wasn't going to go down so easily.

I leaped back and shot a fireball at her, which caught her on her arm. This caused her to falter a little, but mostly only succeeded in pissing her off. Note to self: join the Cyrodiil Mages Guild and learn better Destruction spells. She took a swing at me, which I only barely managed to block with my shield. It left a dent in my shield that I knew I would need to fix later, if I managed to live through this fight.

Whoever this girl was, she was certainly tough. She didn't look like she was going to slow down anytime soon, and she had already put me on the defensive. I decided that trying to tire her out was the best solution. I dodged and weaved, managing to avoid most of her attacks. And then she caught me on the leg, sword slicing through my skin like a knife through butter.

Agony jolted through my entire body, but still, I fought on. I hit her with another fireball and took advantage of her recoil time to cast a minor healing spell on myself. I was no healer, far from it, but I did know how to take the edge off a wound, if only for a little while.

My injured leg posed a few problems, however. This left me unable to continue my original strategy of dodging her every move, and I was sure that was exactly why she had attacked me there. She recovered from my fireball and rushed forward again, swinging her sword wildly. Now she was really mad. Somehow, I managed to meet most of her hits with either my shield or my own sword.

I thrusted forward with my shield and managed to make her drop her sword. Finally, I had the upper hand. Since Arena rules stated that could could not pick up any weapon that was dropped, even your own, she was now entirely reliant on her fists and magic to win the fight. She shot a frost spell at me, which I managed to dodge even with my injured leg.

Without her sword, she was at my mercy. A hit here, a slash there, lather, rinse, repeat, and she was down. I had won my first match.

The announcer proclaimed the Blue Team victorious, and then instructed me to leave the Arena for a well-earned rest. I happily obliged, taking one last glance at my fallen opponent. Truth be told, I felt bad, but she volunteered to do this. It wasn't like anyone forced her to fight in the Arena.

I pulled open the door to the Blue Team's Bloodworks and limped down the ramp. I healed my injuries in the Basin of Renewal, grateful to no longer have to limp.

Owyn was happily surprised to see me. "By the Nine Divines, you did it! You actually won! You ain't so bad after all, Pit Dog. You may even survive enough matches to advance in rank," he said, grinning. He handed me fifty gold. I frowned at the small sum in my hands before pocketing it. Well, better than nothing.

"When's my next match?" I asked.

Owyn shrugged. "Whenever you feel ready. Now that I know you're not going to die right off the bat, I'd like you to take some time between matches and brush up on your skills. You can fight, alright, but a lot of your victory today in that Arena depended on dumb luck. If you hadn't disarmed your opponent, I imagine you would have had a much harder time."

"Right... well, thank you, I think," I said, walking back into the training room.

My Gladiator friend was nowhere to be found, so I decided to watch the strange Orc practice for a bit. There was something off about him, but I couldn't quite place what it was. He was rather pale for an Orc, though. Maybe he had mixed blood?

The Orc noticed me watching him and put down his sword. He turned to me with a smile.

"Ah, you must be our Arena's newest Pit Dog. I'm Agronak gro-Malog. The Grand Champion. Most people call me the Gray Prince," he said.

"The Gray Prince?" I asked.

Rather than being annoyed at my confusion, Agronak looked more than happy to explain his title. "You see, I'm only half-Orc." Okay, so my earlier suspicions were correct. "My mother was an Orc, but my father is a lord. I'm technically nobility, but no one seems to want to recognize that. So I call myself the Gray Prince."

"I see," I said. It was actually rather interesting, learning people's stories.

I was about to ask further when the door the the Bloodworks opened. It was my Gladiator friend. He had apparently been watching me fight.

He walked up to me and shook my hand. "You did it, my friend! I knew you could," he said happily. Agronak nodded a friendly greeting at the Gladiator.

"I'll tell you more about it later," Agronak said, and returned to his training.

"That was a very impressive battle," the Gladiator said, grinning. "For a second there, I was worried she had you beaten. But I knew you'd come back in the end, and you did. And here you are. How do you feel, Pit Dog?"

"Like a bunch of Daedra hit me full force in the stomach," I admitted honestly. I had just been through one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, and managed to come out of it with only a few injuries to show. "I think I need a strong drink to get over what I just had to go through."

The Gladiator chuckled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get one! My treat, considering you just won me a fair bit of gold."

So he had bet on my match and won. Maybe that was why he was so happy to see me alive at the end of it.

The Gladiator and I made our way to the Elven Gardens District at my request. I decided we were going to get our drinks at Luther Broad's Boarding House, which was where I was going to stay the night again.

"Hey there, Luther," I said as I entered.

"Oh, hello. Laniwen, right? I assume you want another room for the night?" he asked.

I nodded, handing him ten gold. "But first, I'm here to celebrate!" I exclaimed, grinning. "I took your advice and entered in the Arena. I won my first match!"

Luther smiled. "Congratulations. And I see you made a friend, too," he said, glancing over at the Gladiator.

"Yeah, he fights in the Arena too. We're both here to celebrate," I said and the Gladiator and I took our seats at the bar.

"A round of your finest, if you will," my Dunmer friend requested. Luther nodded and disappeared into the back, coming back a few seconds later with a bottle. He poured the both of us a drink and set the bottle on the table.

My Gladiator friend and I did a little toast and we took big gulps of our drinks. The alcohol burned going down, but it certainly made me feel better.

"So," my drinking partner began. "What brought you to the Arena in the first place?"

I took another sip of my drink and set the glass down on the table. "I want to be an adventurer, but I need the money for equipment," I answered. It was technically the truth. Going to Weynon Priory was certainly going to be an adventure. I had to be careful what what I revealed to people.

"A noble reason. And good on you for earning the money honestly," the Gladiator said, downing the last of his own drink.

"You have no idea," I said, swallowing the last of the alcohol in my glass. The Gladiator called for another round and the evening dissolved into stories and laughter.

"You know," I said somewhere between the third and fourth drink. "You still haven't told me your name, Gladiator."

"Is that so? I already told you, it's not important," he retorted, grinning. At this point, we were both slightly drunk.

I looked at him with mock-seriousness. "You've forced me to take matters into my own hands. I'm gonna give you a nickname. I'm gonna call you... Blue."

Wow, how original. But it was the best my slightly inebriated mind could come up with.

'Blue' chuckled. "If you wish," he said, polishing off his next drink and launching into yet another tale of his adventures before joining the Arena.

Eventually, Luther closed up shop, and I bid Blue goodbye. I stumbled up the stairs and managed to fall into an easier sleep this time.

The fact that I was (maybe a little more than) slightly drunk probably helped.

* * *

The Blue Team Gladiator is one of my favorite minor NPCs. Expect him to pop up from time to time.


	3. Unfriendly Competition, Part One

The morning sun was not my friend. My head throbbed as I got up. I could still remember the night before, but I had apparently had enough to constitute a hangover.

Packing up my bag again, I crept downstairs silently. Luther was unsurprisingly working behind the bar, polishing a glass.

"Good morning," he greeted amicably.

I sat down at the bar and buried my head in my arms. "Not so loud..." I whined. Luther chuckled and took my breakfast order. He returned with my food and a tall glass of water.

"Honestly, the best thing to do is to keep yourself hydrated," he said. I thanked him and ate my meal as quickly as I could. Today was going to be a shopping day, I decided.

The sun was even less friendly now that I was outside. Although drinking a glass of water had somewhat helped my aching head, my condition was only aggrivated by the addition of sunlight.

It was a lot less crowded than yesterday, now that everyone knew what had happened. People were probably too scared to go outside. I chuckled at the thought. If anyone at all should be scared, it should be me. I _was_ carrying the Amulet of Kings, after all.

I made my way toward the Market District and surveyed the shops there. It was amazing; they had everything I could possibly need in one place. I decided to start at the Gilded Carafe. Although I wasn't very skilled at it, alchemy was one thing that interested me greatly.

The door to the shop was rather heavy and it put a strain on my sore muscles to open it. The woman behind the counter greeted me as I entered.

"Hello there. I don't think I've seen you around before," she said.

I shook my head. "I'm new in town," I admitted. "I'm looking to stock up on supplies before heading off to Chorral."

The woman smiled. "An adventurer, I see. It's always nice to have new customers. I rarely ever see anyone in here anymore, not since..." she trailed off.

I raised an eyebrow. "Not since what?"

The woman sighed. "You look pretty trustworthy. I think you can help us all out," she said.

I was confused. "With what?"

"Thoronir," the woman said with a scowl. "That guy is going to run me out of business! He sets his prices so low, I can't imagine how he's making a profit. He's making it impossible for the other shopkeepers in town to operate their businesses."

"But how could I possibly help with that?" I asked.

"You're going to need to talk to Jensine about that. She runs Jensine's 'Good as New' Merchandise down the road. I assure you there's something in it for you if you can help us," the shopkeeper explained.

Well, that was enough to convince me. Even if it wasn't much, if the shopkeepers in town liked me, I might be able to negotiate lower prices for their goods. "All right, I'll see what I can do."

The woman smiled. "Thank you very much. Jensine's store is down the street. Tell her Claudette sent you," she said as I pushed open the door to the outside.

Jensine's store wasn't far from Claudette's at all. As I pulled open the door to her shop, I could tell that annoying, heavy doors were apparently an Imperial City standard.

I walked up to the counter. "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you Jensine?" I asked.

The woman smiled and nodded. "That would be me, yes. Is there something you needed?"

"I was sent by Claudette over at the Gilded Carafe. She said I could help you with a problem with a guy named Thoronir?" I said. It sounded more like a question than an answer.

At this, Jensine's face brightened. "Ah, so Claudette sent you, huh? She's a good judge of character; I think I can trust you."

"Okay, so tell me about this Thoronir guy. Why has he been causing trouble for you guys?"

Jensine explained everything to me. She told me how she was the head of the Society of Concerned Merchants, and how she was convinced that Thoronir's inventory was stolen. Since I was new in town, Jensine theorized that I might be able to find out the story behind Thoronir easier than any of them could. She, like Claudette, promised that there would be something in it for me.

I nodded. "I see. Don't worry, Jensine. I'll get to the bottom of this for you."

"Thank you very much, Laniwen. I'm glad there's someone willing to help us," she said, and once again, I was out in the bright late morning sun. My next stop: The Copious Coinpurse.

Thoronir was a lot different than I pictured him. From the way the shopkeepers talked about him, I expected him to be this big, imposing guy. Nope. He was a rather short Bosmer man with a squished face.

"Ah, hello there. Another new customer? Welcome to The Copious Coinpurse. Best deals in all of town!" he greeted enthusiastically. Everything about him oozed fakeness.

I looked around his shop for a few minutes. His inventory looked normal, if not a bit worn. Nothing looked obviously stolen, though I probably wasn't the best judge of that, having never stolen anything in my life.

I approached the counter. "What kind a deal can I make for you today?" Thoronir asked with a fake grin plastered on his face. I felt like punching him, anything to wipe that stupid smile off his face. But, that probably wouldn't have been very helpful to the shopkeepers' cause.

"You have quite the inventory there, sir," I said casually.

Thoronir nodded. "Only the best for my customers," he said haughtily.

"Where do you get it all?" I asked. Thoronir's smile disappeared instantly.

"I don't like your tone. It's a trade secret. I can't tell you. Just like a baker doesn't give away his recipes, a merchant doesn't divulge his sources. If I told you where I got my items, every merchant in town would use the same source. You can tell that to Jensine when you get back, hm?" Damn, he was good. He saw right through me.

I still decided to play dumb, however. "I don't know any Jensine, but all right. I was just curious, gosh!" I said defensively. I wasn't the... best of liars.

I left the store knowing no more than when I entered. I was certain Jensine was right, though. There was something off about Thoronir. If he got his merchandise honestly, he wouldn't be so defensive about it. Since I had no new information, I decided not to report back to Jensine just yet. Instead, I was going to take matters into my own hands. After Thoronir closed up shop for the night, I was going to follow him to see if he did anything suspicious. One of the benefits of being a Bosmer was that it was easy for us to sneak around.

Of course, this plan left me with about eight hours of free time. It was only about noon, and according to the hours sign posted outside The Copious Coinpurse, Thoronir closed up shop at eight. Maybe my headache would be gone by then.

I decided there was nothing to do but go to the Arena and train. There was no way in Oblivion I was going to fight another match quite yet, not after yesterday, but brushing up on my blade skills wouldn't hurt. Oh, I planned to fight another match eventually, just... not now. Not when I had so much at stake.

I wandered over to the Arena district and went down into the Bloodworks. On my way down, I bumped into the Yellow Team Champion, and she merely sneered at me in response. She must have been fun at parties.

Blue was working away at a punching bag. "I see you managed to survive your hangover," I said to him as I passed by him.

"Hey there, Pit Dog! How's life treatin' ya?" he greeted in response. He then grimaced. "Waking up this morning wasn't fun."

"Yeah, it wasn't fun for me at all either," I responded. "It was worth it, though."

Blue raised an eyebrow. "What brings you down here so early? Are you planning on fighting a second match today?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Gods no! I just have some free time on my hands, and I thought I would spend it training here," I explained.

"The Blademaster is going to want you to fight again soon, you know," Blue remarked.

I sighed. "I know, but I'm not going to right now. Not while I'm still hurting from yesterday's match. No, I'm spending my time doing odd jobs for the shopkeepers in town."

Blue chuckled in amusement. "That's... something to do, I guess. Would you like to spar again?"

I drew my sword. "You bet."

And so Blue and I went at each other for about an hour. After that, I just couldn't take it anymore. My muscles were already sore from yesterday and now they were almost screaming. To make matters worse, I still had seven hours to go. Oh, and my head still hurt.

"Hey Blue, how do you kill seven hours in this town?" I asked after I had changed back into my normal armor.

"You were serious about the nickname, huh? Anyway, I'd go take a nap or go for a walk in the Arboretum or something. Don't kill yourself with training here. It's important to be ready for your next match but I can tell you're exhausted," he replied.

"Thanks, a nap sounds nice," I said, taking my bag and heading for the Bloodworks exit.

"See you later!" the Dunmer called after me.

I thought twice about the nap; I didn't exactly want to spend more gold on a room for just a few hours. Instead, I decided to explore the city.

I went all over, from the Talos Plaza District to the Waterfront (the latter of which I swore to never do again; too many creepy pirates and potential pickpockets). Somewhere along the way, my hangover faded and I was able to function again.

Finally, it was time to go after Thoronir. I went into First Edition across the street from The Copious Coinpurse. The shopkeeper greeted me disinterestedly with a comment about how they were closing for the night soon. I nodded and picked up a book, pretending to thumb through it while I was really watching the window. Any minute now...

Thoronir exited the shop and locked the door behind him. I put the book down and thanked the shopkeeper for his time. The cool evening air hit me in the face as I left the bookshop and started after Thoronir, taking care to not let him see me.

For the most part, his routine was rather... boring. I followed him through the Green Emperor Way to the Arboretum (Blue was right; this place _was_ nice for a walk). This was the most uninteresting espionage mission ever. All I was doing was watching a fat guy walk places.

When we got back to the Market District, however, things got interesting. He took a detour into a small secluded alley. Suspicious... very suspicious. I entered the alley from the other side and hid myself in a bush where he couldn't see me. Now to wait for something to happen...

Thankfully, I didn't need to wait very long. A blond man entered the alley and began conversing with Thoronir. They were talking about shipments! This was certainly interesting. They finished their conversation and went their separate ways. I waited a moment before crawling out of the bush. My new target was whoever Thoronir was just talking to. From what I had overheard, his name was apparently Agarmir.

I trailed behind Agarmir, hoping to catch him in the act of something illegal. Alas, I had no luck, and only managed to follow him back to his house. I guess even shifty people needed sleep.

And speaking of sleep, I needed it too. I dragged myself back to Luther Broad's Boarding House, where Luther was somehow still awake.

"You're up late," he commented as I entered.

"So are you," I retorted with a smile.

"Are you renting a room again?" he asked.

I handed him ten gold. "Yep. Good night." I trudged up the stairs and collapsed on the bed, falling asleep in seconds.

* * *

I need to find better ways of ending chapters than just having Laniwen fall asleep.

This was the first sidequest I ever did in Oblvion, so I have a soft spot for it. It was supposed to be one big chapter, but there was so much of it, I had to split it up into two.


	4. Unfriendly Competition, Part Two

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up, just that I was hungry. I ordered another meal from Luther and planned my next course of action.

Neither Thoronir nor Agarmir were going to cooperate with me. I already knew as much. That meant I probably would have to take more... drastic measures. I knew where Agarmir lived; it would be simple to break into his house and figure out where he got his shipments from. Ugh, the idea felt so wrong, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was for a good cause, for fair competition.

"If you keep staring at your food like that, it's going to burst into flames," Luther joked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, right, sorry. Just a little tired," I admitted. If only he knew I was plotting my first ever crime in my head...

I finished my food and left the Boarding House. It was a cloudy, gloomy day today, which was fine by me. The Talos Plaza District was nearly empty, which made me feel better about what I was about to do.

I tried the door to Agarmir's house. Locked, of course. It wouldn't be a problem; I had quite a few lockpicks left over from my adventure in prison. I looked left, then right, and then left again. After making sure that no guards (or anyone, really) were paying attention to me, I slipped one of my lockpicks into the door and jiggled it around. The only response I got was a broken lockpick. Dammit, this was harder than it looked.

It took a few more tries, but I eventually got the door open. Thankfully, no one was home. I searched the whole house, breaking quite a few more lockpicks in the process.

I found what I was looking for in the basement. The Macabre Manifest. Oh, it was macabre, all right. Agarmir stole his products from dead people!

I took the book and quickly left the house, making sure nothing else looked like it had been moved. No one had seemed to notice me breaking and entering, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

It was time to confront Thoronir with my evidence. Maybe then he would confess, and Jensine and the other shopkeepers could finally have their peace of mind back. I made my way back to the Market District, making a beeline for The Copious Coinpurse.

Thoronir was alone in his shop, which made things easier. "Hello, and welcome to the – oh, it's you," Thoronir remarked as I entered. What a lovely and warm welcome.

I wasn't here for chit-chat, though. "Cut the chatter, Thoronir. I know about Agarmir," I said.

"Okay, so you figured out where I get my products from. I could send him to you, you know. Do you need his services?" he asked. What? Gods no! I had no idea if he was playing dumb or genuinely didn't know what Agarmir was up to.

"I know he gets his inventory from dead people!" I exclaimed.

Thoronir's expression went from shocked, to contemplative, to angry. "And _where_, might I ask, is your proof of Agarmir's wrongdoings?" he questioned, hoping to catch me there. However, I was one step ahead of him.

I pulled the manifest out and tossed it towards him. "Right here. See for yourself," I said casually.

Thoronir caught the book clumsily and started thumbing through it. His face turned pale. "By the Divines... you're right. This is Agarmir's handwriting. And I know some of these names. They're all," he gulped, "people who have recently died." He sat down, looking like he was about to throw up.

"So you didn't know?" I asked. If he was faking it, he was a pretty good actor.

"Of course I didn't!" he exclaimed, handing the book back to me with shaking hands. I put the book on the counter. "I always thought he was a little shifty, but _graverobbing_? What have I gotten myself into?"

"What are you going to do about it?"

Thoronir shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what to say. I guess an apology isn't even enough." He looked at me for guidance. "What _should_ I do?"

I thought for a moment. "Help me catch Agarmir," I requested.

Thoronir nodded. "Yes! That's the _least_ I can do... I can't imagine he'll go quietly, though. I'm not a fighter, but you look like you are. I can't go with you, but I can tell you where he probably is right now. He told me the other day he had to be at the Trentius Family Mausoleum today for an... appointment. I didn't think much of it then but... oh no." He shook his head. "I'm in way over my head here. What have I done?"

"Don't worry, I'll stop him," I assured. I had no idea why I was trying to comfort _him_ of all people, but he did seem genuinely sorry about what he had done. And Agarmir _did_ need to be stopped, after all.

"Yes, you do that. And in the meantime, I'm going to figure out what to do with all these... ill-gotten things. I'm so sorry..." he mumbled.

"Tell that to Jensine," I remarked pointedly.

This seemed to shake him up a little. "R-right..." he said, trailing off. He didn't even bother to call me on the fact that I had lied (really badly) yesterday about not knowing Jensine.

I left Thoronir alone with his guilt while I contemplated what to do next. The Trentius Family Mausoleum... sounded like a _lovely_ place, really; all gloomy and full of dead people. Still, it was my only clue for what to do next.

I had remembered seeing a graveyard along Green Emperor Way. Maybe the Mausoleum was there. Agh, but there were so many graves there... it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I considered asking a guard where it was, but figured that would be too suspicious. Who went looking for mausoleums in their spare time?

Luck was on my side today, it seemed. As I entered Green Emperor Way, I noticed a head full of blond hair duck into a building in the graveyard. Agarmir. The words carved into the gloomy stone building confirmed my suspicions; this was indeed the Trentius Family Mausoleum.

I pulled open the door, coughing at the sudden upheaval of dust. I heard two voices, both male, coming from inside the building.

My arrival had not gone without being noticed. Both men ran over to me; I drew my sword.

"You must be Agarmir," I said simply.

Agarmir simply glared. "And you must be Jensine's little watchdog. Don't think I don't know what you're up to. I saw you following me last night," he stated, drawing his own sword.

I smirked, although I was scared out of my wits. "So I take it you're not going to come quietly?" I retorted, tightening my grip on my sword so Agarmir couldn't see my hands shaking.

He didn't dignify my question with a response. Instead, he rushed forward, sword catching me on the shoulder. I felt the breath being sucked out of me, more so than if it was just a simple wound. Damn, he had an enchanted sword! And there were two of them... I was beginning to think that confronting Agarmir alone hadn't been such a good idea.

I jumped back as best I could despite Agarmir's enchantment and shot a fireball in their general direction. It didn't hit anyone, but it at least provided the distraction I needed. I rushed forward with my own sword and managed to get Agarmir's friend in the arm. He stumbled back a little and snarled at me.

Meanwhile, Agarmir was trying as best he could to finish the job he came here to start; graverobbing. While blocking an attack from Agarmir's thug with my (still damaged from the Arena) shield, I reached over with my sword hand and shot Agarmir in the back with a lightning bolt. Suddenly, I was glad that the last thing I did before I got arrested was visit that discount spell store. Agarmir slumped to the ground, not dead but at least out of commission for a few minutes.

This managed to distract Agarmir's thug just long enough for me to act. I took my sword and thrust it forward, catching a weak point in his iron armor and piercing it. My sword went through his abdomen and he fell to the ground, dead. One down, one to go.

Agarmir was quickly recovering from my impromptu lightning bolt. He rushed at me with his enchanted sword and I rose to block. My angle was off and he managed to disarm me. This... this was not good. Yeah, I had been right about this being a terrible idea, that was for sure.

He advanced on me with a menacing grin on his face. I had managed to kill his friend, but now he was going to kill me. I backed up until my back hit stone. Nowhere to go. I put my hands on the wall... and felt something cool and metal.

I grabbed whatever it was and swung it at Agarmir, hitting him square in the jaw. I could now see it was a mace of some sort. Better than nothing, and I was pretty sure there was a frostbite wound on Agarmir's face. I grinned; two could play the enchanted weapon game.

Agarmir, now realizing I had the upper hand, started to back away, but I wasn't going to let him get away and rob more graves, especially not after the trouble he had caused me today. A few more swings from my enchanted mace and he was done for.

After Agarmir was dead, I caught my breath and slumped against the wall of the mausoleum. I hated taking lives, but I knew when I had to. It seemed like a waste, but I wasn't about to let myself get killed. No, in this world, it was kill or be killed, and I didn't want to be killed.

I looked around the mausoleum. Well, I had been right about the creepy part. I wondered if there were any ghosts in here, not that I really wanted to find out. Agarmir's shovel sat up against the far wall, covered in dirt and blood. I got up, walked over, and picked it up. Yes, this was more than enough proof of what Agarmir had done.

I turned to leave when I realized I still had the enchanted mace. I glanced down at it. It looked like any other old mace, except for the inscription. On the handle, I could make out the words "Calliben's Grim Retort – Calliben Trentius". So this mace had belonged to someone who had been buried in here. If that was the case, neat as it was, I just couldn't take it with me. It wouldn't have been right. Taking things from the corpses of people who attacked you was one thing; graverobbing was another.

I walked over to where I had found the mace. There was a statue of what looked like an old guy, and I assumed that this was Calliben Trentius. I placed the mace on the ground in front of the statue.

"I'm sorry to have bothered your resting place. Thank you for letting me borrow your mace," I said, thinking myself silly for talking to a statue but still feeling that thanking him was something I needed to do.

As expected, I received no answer. I picked up Agarmir's shovel again, recovered my own sword, adjusted my bag, and headed for the exit... which wouldn't budge.

Oh crap. Was I trapped in here? Was this Agarmir's final revenge; to lock me in here to die along with them?

I needed to stay calm. Maybe one of them had a key on them.

I tried Agarmir's thug first. Nothing but his armor and some scraps of food, and his armor was too damaged to salvage and sell.

Agarmir's body had the key I was looking for, along with what I assumed was his house key. I left the house key alone and took the Mausoleum key. I glanced at Agarmir's enchanted sword, which was on the ground next to him, and decided to take that too. Hey, I had won it fairly, so why not?

I didn't particularly want the extra weight on me, but if I sold it, I would probably have more than enough money to but the supplies I needed to get on my way. Maybe it would have been easier to keep the sword and use it, but I had no idea how enchanted swords worked. I didn't want to accidentally hurt myself with it or something.

I unlocked the Mausoleum door and stepped out into the daylight. After being in a gloomy mausoleum the whole time, being outside was blinding, even though it was overcast. My next task was to go to Thoronir and tell him that Agarmir had been... taken care of.

I knew I had done nothing wrong; they had attacked first, and I had merely acted in self-defense. However, I still felt bad for having ended two lives today, necessary as it had been for my own survival. Some adventurer I was going to be.

I got back to the Market District and pulled open the door to The Copious Coinpurse. Thoronir jumped at the sound of the door opening, but relaxed when he saw it was me. He had probaby expected Agarmir to come charging in there and kill him or something. I found the mental image of Thoronir cowering behind his counter rather amusing, but I bit my tongue.

"Were you able to stop Agarmir?" he asked, eyes wide with fear.

I held up Agarmir's shovel. "Yes. This is the shovel he used for his graverobbing." The look on his face told me he knew what I had had to do to obtain it. The fact that my armor was spattered with blood probably helped too.

"I'm glad you're all right. I was afraid that if he beat you, I would be next. Thank the Nines your combat skills exceeded his," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. Gee, thanks for the concern about my own well-being, I thought sarcastically.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked.

"About that... I came to some decisions while you were gone, and I've decided to donate all the money I've made, along with what's left of these stolen items, to the temple," Thoronir explained.

I nodded. "Good."

"I also had a long talk with Jensine. I explained everything to her, and I've decided to join her Society," he explained. He sighed. "Listen, I realize you risked your life today to give me a chance to change, and for that, I am grateful. Please, take this as a sign of my gratitude."

Thoronir opened a case behind the counter and took out a small gold ring. "It's enchanted, and should protect you against the elements."

I took the ring and slipped it on my finger. I could feel its power coursing through me. "Thank you, Thoronir. I'm glad to see everything turned out all right in the end," I admitted. And really, it had. Thoronir turned out to be not so bad after all.

Thoronir nodded. "Yes, and I'm glad I was able to see the error of my ways. You are welcome here anytime, my friend."

I smiled. "Thanks. I have to go report to Jensine now."

"Yes, of course. Thank you. You have shown me mercy, and I won't forget that."

I left The Copious Coinpurse and started down the road to Jensine's store. What a hectic two days this had been. Although I was happy to help, I could confidently say I was done with errands for shopkeepers, at least for now.

I fought with the door to Jensine's store. Stupid Imperial City doors...

"I have been anxiously awaiting your return," she said as I entered.

"Thoronir spoke to you?" I asked.

Jensine nodded. "Yes, and he explained everything to me. I believe him when he said he had no knowledge of where Agarmir was getting his products from." At the mention of Agarmir, Jensine's face twisted into a scowl. "I am sickened to think that Agarmir could even think of doing such a thing. I hope those poor souls can now rest in peace..."

I handed over Agarmir's shovel. "Speaking of Agarmir, this is his. I picked it up at the Mausoleum when I... er, took care of the problem," I said, carefully choosing my words. Jensine seemed to know what I meant, though.

Jensine looked the shovel over before placing it gingerly behind the counter for safekeeping. "Thank you. This and the manifesto that Thoronir handed over should be more than enough proof of Agarmir's crimes."

"What's going to happen to Thoronir?" I asked.

"I have no reason to believe he acted with malicious intent. Since he agreed to donate the stolen items, has joined the Society, and has agreed to adjust his prices to be fairer, the Society has decided not to press charges," Jensine explained. "I'm taken aback by his honest actions, but I'm not complaining, either."

"Well, that's good, I guess. He seemed like an okay guy, once everything was over," I remarked awkwardy.

Jensine nodded. "I'm sure you're waiting to hear about your reward," she said. I grinned sheepishly. "The Society is grateful for all that you have done for them. Please, take this gold and know that you are welcome any time in our shops."

Jensine handed me one hundred septims. Sweet, that was more than enough for food.

"Wow, thank you!" I exclaimed. "Hey, before I go, I just have one question."

"Yes?"

I gestured to my mostly leather armor, which had been moderately damaged during my excursion into the Mausoleum. "Do you know where I can get my armor fixed?" I asked.

Jensine nodded. "Your best bet is The Best Defense down the street. Talk to Maro Rufus," she instructed.

"Maro Rufus. Got it. Thanks." I ducked out of the shop and headed to the place that Jensine told me about.

There were two men standing behind the counter. One was dressed in chainmail while the other was decked out in iron.

"Er, excuse me. Which one of you is Maro Rufus?" I asked.

"That would be me," the man wearing chainmail indicated. I walked over to him.

"I was wondering if you could repair my armor," I said, indicating my leather armor which had numerous rips.

Maro Rufus looked me over. "Hmm... wouldn't you rather just upgrade?"

I hadn't thought of that, but it made sense. "Actually, now that you mention it, that's a great idea. How much for a full set of chain?"

He told me, and I didn't have enough. Then I remembered the sword I had taken from Agarmir. I handed it over to Maro Rufus to appraise.

"Hmm..." he muttered, looking the sword over. "I'll have to admit, weapons aren't my specialty. You're going to want to take this over to Rohssan at A Fighting Chance." Great. More people to talk to. Honestly, I just wanted to get my supplies and be on my way.

I dragged myself over to A Fighting Chance, where the shopkeeper, a middle-aged Redguard woman named Rohssan, was able to appraise and buy the enchanted sword. I left the store with considerably heavier pockets than when I entered.

My first order of business was to head back to The Best Defense and purchase a full set of chain, which I had  
fitted for me. Yes, this was definitely better than leather armor scavenged from people who had been dead of years. I decided not to mess around with a new weapon since my steel shortsword was working just fine for me.

Food was next, and I was planning on taking care of that tomorrow, around the same time I purchased a horse.

I felt a sense of restlessness tugging at me. One more night at the boarding house, and I was on my way to do the most important thing I had ever done in my life.

Luther greeted me as I entered the inn. Over the past few days, I had become something of a regular, and he had learned to recognize me.

"A room?" he asked. I nodded and handed him ten gold before sitting at the bar.

"This is going to be my last night here for a while," I said, giving him my dinner order.

"Where are you headed?" he asked, disappearing into the back before I could answer. I waited for him to return with my food before replying.

I dug into my meal eagerly. After almost dying for who even knew what time this was in the past few days, I was understandably hungry. "Chorral," I answered between bites. "Any good places to stay there?"

"I'd try the Gray Mare," Luther suggested. "Good food, good company, decent rooms."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. My last dinner at Luther Broad's passed in relative silence. Luther was friendly enough, but he wasn't the chatty type.

The night found me strangely sleepless. It was understandable; tomorrow I was going on the first leg of an epic adventure to save an empire, after all. But still, I found that my overarching thought on the whole situation was _why me_? I was just a young Bosmer girl who had wandered too far from home; I wasn't a hero or a soldier or anything that would qualify me taking on such a duty. And yet, Uriel Septim had believed in me of all people. I didn't want to let him down, and I didn't want to let Baurus or either of the soldiers who had died for the Emperor down.

I slipped into a dreamless yet restless sleep.

* * *

Okay, back to the plot in the next chapter.

Also, I'm doing updates on Saturdays, not that anyone cares.


	5. Setting Out

Here's chapter five. I hope I didn't keep the two people that are actually reading this waiting for too long. My computer died. Like, "the-tech-people-I-took-it-to-declared-it-DoA" kind of died. I have a backup, thankfully, but it blocks FFN about 95% of the time because it's a school-issued computer.

* * *

The morning came much too quickly for my liking. After getting up and dressed, I sat there on the bed and stared at the wall for a good long while. I realized that after everything, after all my preparation, I was still scared of what was to come.

I packed up my bag for the last time, taking care not to leave anything behind. It would be just my luck if I made it all the way to Weynon Priory and realized I left the Amulet of Kings back in the Imperial City.

I went downstairs and ate my breakfast quietly. Luther bid me goodbye as I left and I found myself out in the Elven Gardens District. I pulled out the list I had made a few days ago from my bag and glanced at it. Okay, I needed food, a horse, and a map. I had _had_ a map, but all of my belongings were taken from me when I was arrested. The thought to reclaim my items had never occurred to me; I hadn't lost much and I didn't want to cause an issue.

An hour passed before I had everything I needed. I had purchased a secondhand map (with a bunch of stuff marked on it already!) from First Edition, stocked up on food at The Feed Bag, picked up a bedroll at Jensine's, and obtained an old armored horse from a woman who seemed more interested in eating them than selling them. The horse didn't come with a name (and if it had, it probably would've been something like "Lunch", I thought dryly), so I named her Mabel.

Mabel was old, but she was sturdy. She seemed to like me, too; maybe she could sense that I had saved her from being some Orc's dinner. Plus, Bosmer in general got along well with animals. I patted Mabel's armored head as we trotted down the road at a leisurely pace. She snorted in what I assumed was contentment.

I wanted to get there quickly, but I knew Mabel was old and I didn't want to push her. Plus, it wasn't like the fate of the world hinged on me getting to Weynon Priory as fast as I could, right?

Right?

It felt strange looking back at the Imperial City from horseback. To think that such a large city could look like a tiny speck from where I was… it was truly an interesting sight. The afternoon sun glinted off the waters of Lake Rumare and I could feel the wind rushing past my face. It was still summer, albeit late, so I didn't feel chilled.

The road was mostly empty, save for a lone merchant's wagon and a few Imperial Legion guards I passed along the way. They nodded their greetings at me. It was nice to know they had people patrolling the roads; I had heard many horror stories about bandits and marauders. It was a wonder I had managed to make it to the Imperial City unscathed. Not that it wasn't the same in every province; it was just that I knew the roads of Valenwood better than those of Cyrodiil. I knew where the bandits of Valenwood liked to linger, and which portions of the province to avoid.

I didn't know how long I had ridden before I felt my stomach growl. Time for lunch – I looked at the sky and noticed the sun was well on its way to setting – dinner, whatever. I led Mabel to the side of the road and found a clear spot on top of a rock for me to sit down. The City Isle was still visible from where I was, and the setting sun was beautiful reflected off of the lake.

I stretched and flattened myself against the rock, looking up at the evening sky. The sunset was beautiful, and the clouds floating by were stained different shades of purple by the setting sun. Mabel was preoccupied with her dinner, and I could hear her eating from where I was. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. For the first time since entering Cyrodiil, I felt relaxed. Nothing could dampen this moment.

Except, of course, the axe at my throat.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice purred in my ear. Judging by the accent, my aggressor was most likely a Khajiit. I almost jumped up, but the axe at my neck made me think twice about that.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the man who now had me pinned to the rock. He was a Khajiit – I had been right about that – and he was dressed head-to-toe in iron armor. He held an iron axe in his hand, which was pressed up against my throat. It was a classic case of robbery-by-highwayman. I was a fool to have let my guard down so easily.

I considered my options. To fight him would most likely be suicide; he outmatched me in both weaponry and armor and I wasn't in a good place to get a good shot at him with magic. He was definitely physically stronger than me.

"Now, you're going to be a good little elf and hand over one hundred gold. Otherwise… we might have-" he removed the axe from my neck and let it glint in the light of the setting sun, "a problem."

It was no use fighting him. I supposed if I were a braver or rasher person, I would have taken him on. However, I wanted to live to see Weynon Priory. I nodded numbly, and he let me up. I scrambled up and jumped back, putting up my hands in a surrendering gesture. The highwayman grinned menacingly. I reached into my bag, making sure the highwayman could see everything I was doing, and pulled out my money satchel. Mabel neighed, probably sensing my distress.

I counted out one hundred septims, each second that dragged by lasting an eternity. The highwayman tapped the blunt end of his axe against his hand as a gesture of impatience. My heart was racing in fear. If he decided to attack me anyway, I didn't know if I could survive against him. Sure, I had taken on someone in the Arena, but that was a lucky break. I had taken care of Agarmir and his friend, but I had had the help of an enchanted mace. I was no warrior; I could hold my own in a fight, but not against someone as prepared and armored as this highwayman. Giving into his demands might have been the coward's way out, but it was the only way out that ensured my survival (of course, that was depending on the assumption that the highwayman didn't attack me anyway once he had my money).

I put the money on the ground and backed up about ten feet.

"Don't move," the highwayman growled. He walked forward and picked up the coins. After about thirty seconds of counting, during which I considered bolting or hitting him with a fireball, he looked up and nodded at me.

"Go," he ordered.

He didn't need to tell me twice. I grabbed my things, ran over to Mabel, hopped up on her, and started off into the night, going as fast as I could without straining her. Mabel obliged readily, just as relieved as I was to be away from the aggressive Khajiit. When I got far enough away that I considered myself safe, I slowed Mabel down a little and chanced a look back. I sighed in relief when I saw that he hadn't followed me.

Forget the Arena; _that_ had been the most terrifying experience of my life. I shuddered when the thought came to me that I should've considered myself lucky that all he wanted was my money. No, I didn't even want to _think_ about that.

The sun had completely set by now, and I was riding by night. I slowed Mabel down to walking speed and checked my surroundings. No one else was around, friend or foe. For now, I was safe as far as I could see (which wasn't very far at all). I took the torch Baurus had given me in the prison out of my bag and lit it with a fireball. It was better, but not by much. I found myself wishing I had a Night-Eye spell or something. Maybe I would try to learn one once I joined the Mages Guild.

I squinted and tried to look ahead. In the dark, I thought I could make out a building of some sort standing some length down the road. My trusty secondhand map didn't have any inns marked on the road from the Imperial City to Chorrol, so I wondered what it was. It couldn't have been Weynon Priory; I hadn't ridden far enough to get there just yet.

As I neared the building, I realized just how tired I was. I had traveled for hours now, and the only break I had taken had resulted in me being robbed. This was going to take forever. I stifled a yawn and slowed Mabel down to a stop as we got to the front of the mysterious building.

Now that I was close to it, I could see it was a farmhouse. A nearby sign identified it as the Odiil Farm. I wondered if anyone was home. I knocked on the door; no answer. Entering the house was out of the question; that was trespassing and I had no idea who owned the house.

There was a rustling noise coming from the Odiil Farm's field. I drew my sword and went over to find a small group of goblins feasting on a bunch of almost-ripe tomatoes. They attacked me on sight, and only after a bunch of sword swings was I able to subdue them. After healing my wounds, I looted their bodies for potions and lockpicks and returned to Mabel. Since I couldn't go inside the house, I decided the next best thing would be to sleep behind the house. From there, I couldn't be seen, and therefore, couldn't be bothered by people passing by.

I tied Mabel to the fence separating the path from the field and crept around to the back of the house, taking care to be quiet as to not alert any other creatures that might have been surrounding the farmhouse. Once I found a spot that I had deemed suitably out of sight of the road, I unrolled my bedroll and snuggled into it. It was… uncomfortable, to say the least. I wasn't accustomed to sleeping on the ground; my life in Valenwood was by no means luxurious, but my family was well enough off.

I spent the night drifting in and out of a mostly-dreamless sleep, only getting up a few times to check that Mabel was still safe. After the sun poked its head out over the horizon, I decided that getting any length of quality sleep was impossible and I gave up my endeavor, settling for sleepiness.

In the daylight, it was easier for me to see my surroundings. The farmhouse I had found last night looked old, but didn't look abandoned. I wondered if the owner was off on vacation or something. The field was full of basic foods like tomatoes, corn, and radishes; the fact that it was so well-kept was an indicator that someone did still live here.

I fed Mabel and fixed myself breakfast from my own food stores, eating in silence while sitting on top of the fence. A less honest person than I might have raided these fields for food (and alchemy ingredients), but I didn't want to mess up the livelihood of whoever lived here. No, it was time to move on.

I packed up my bedroll, made sure I left nothing behind, and left the Odiil Farm behind. It was a lot easier to travel by day than it was by night. As I went down the road, I kept looking over my shoulder, fearful of another highwayman. Because I had foolishly let my guard down, I was now down one hundred gold. That was the equivalent of about five to ten days staying in an inn, depending on what the innkeeper charged. Meaning, that was five to ten days I would have to spend outside instead of sleeping in a nice (or at least decent) bed.

I rode on for a few more hours. When the sun was at what I believed to be its peak, I saw a cluster of buildings in the distance. I edged Mabel on, just a little faster. Finally, we were there. It had taken me a day and a half, one hundred gold, and my confidence, but I had finally made it… I hoped. For all I knew, this could just be another farm or something. I didn't think most farms had chapels, though.

The sign in front of the building cluster confirmed my suspicions; I had finally made it Weynon Priory. I left Mabel to the stablehand, a young Dunmer, who kindly pointed out the building where I could find Brother Jauffre. The door to Weynon Priory stood there, imposing and immobile. This was it; I couldn't screw this up, lest I find myself at the wrong end of the Grandmaster's sword. I knew my story seemed like a tall tale at best.

Really, it was rather unbelievable; a random Bosmer girl who escaped from prison, showing up unannounced at Weynon Priory, carrying the Amulet of Kings, who had supposedly been entrusted with it by the dead Emperor himself, mere seconds before his life was ended by assassins? Yeah, they were more likely to think _I_ had killed him and was trying to pass myself off as a hero, or that I was connected to the assassins somehow. This could very well be the last day of my life. For a split second, I considered running, leaving the Amulet at the door and getting as far away as I could, but I shook that thought from my head. No, I had made a promise to the Emperor, and to Baurus, and I intended to keep those promises.

"Are you all right, miss?" a voice shook me from my thoughts. I looked over to find the Dunmer stablehand I had handed Mabel off to.

I nodded numbly. "Y-yeah, just tired," I said.

The stable hand didn't question it. "I just came over to tell you your horse is safe in the stables. Talk to me when you want her back," he informed.

"Thanks," I replied, and I was left alone with my thoughts once again.

I couldn't just stand out here all day. No, that would look suspicious. I had to go in there and talk to Jauffre, no matter how terrified I was that he would mistake me for a murderer.

It was now or never. I looked at the doors, took a deep breath, and pushed my way inside.

* * *

Fun fact: On my first Oblivion playthrough, I got stopped by a highwayman about five feet away from the walls of the Imperial City. Instead of paying up like Laniwen here, though, I killed him.


	6. Weynon Priory

Here, take a second update.

* * *

I didn't know what I expected. The main building of Weynon Priory looked like… a house. This was probably where everyone here lived.

"Excuse me, miss? May I help you?"

I turned to see a man dressed in priests' robes. I wondered if he was Jauffre.

"I-I'm here to see Brother Jauffre," I sputtered out, mentally kicking myself for sounding so nervous. Way to _not_ look suspicious, Laniwen!

If I looked shifty, the man didn't notice anything. Instead, he nodded and pointed to the second floor. "Up the stairs and to the right. What brings you here?" he asked.

Shit. What was I supposed to say? "Uh, business," I said. Yeah, real convincing. Agh, what was the name of the group Jauffre was supposed to be Grandmaster of? The Swords? No, the Blades! "Er, Blades business!"

The man seemed to understand. "Of course. I won't keep you any longer. If you need anything else, feel free to ask me. My name is Brother Piner."

"Thanks!" I exclaimed, already halfway up the stairs.

I reached the top of the stairs and peered into the adjacent room. An older man sat at a desk, writing. Could this be Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades? He was… well, old; he was mostly bald on top, with a ring of silver hair around his head. His lined face was concentrated intently on his task at hand, and he was dressed in the same kind of outfit Brother Piner had on.

I approached the desk cautiously. The man, sensing my presence, stopped writing and looked at me. Or rather, he _glared_ at me. Even though he was old, I had the feeling this man could kill me in about five seconds flat if he wanted to.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked impatiently. I half-wanted to just throw the Amulet on his desk and run out, but I had made it too far to just give up now.

"Excuse me, sir, a-are you Brother Jauffre?" I asked.

"Yes, that would be me. What do you want?" he replied.

Okay, it was go time. I decided that trying to give a long-winded answer would just end up looking bad for me in the end. Instead, I decided to take the direct approach.

"The Emperor sent me to find you," I answered.

Jauffre narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Emperor _Uriel_? Do you know something about his death?"

I nodded. "I was there when he died," I explained, and immediately resisted the urge to slap my hand over my mouth. Oops, that sounded pretty bad. Way to not look like a killer, I thought dryly.

Jauffre stood up and put his hand on the hilt of the sword he had strapped to his side. "You'd better explain yourself. Now," he said in almost a growl. Yeah, this hadn't gone the way I had wanted it at all.

I put my hands up in a defensive gesture. "I didn't kill him, I swear! I would never – he gave me the Amulet of Kings! That's why I'm here, to give you the Amulet!" I exclaimed.

Jauffre's eyes widened, but his hand did not move from his sword. "You've brought me the Amulet of Kings? This cannot be! Let me see it," he instructed.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I quickly pulled the Amulet out of my boot and handed it to him. "Er, here, sir," I said. Jauffre looked it over multiple times.

"By the Nine! This _is_ the Amulet of Kings! Who are you?" Jauffre questioned.

"My name is Laniwen, sir. I'm a Bosmer of Valenwood. I came to Cyrodiil in pursuit of a better life, and ended up getting entrusted with the Amulet. I was falsely imprisoned for thievery – er, long story, but I swear I didn't steal anything – and the Emperor was trying to escape from assassins. Uh, there was some sort of secret passageway leading through my cell, and the Emperor sort of pardoned me? I was tagging along with the Emperor and his – uh, Blades, I think they were – taking out assassins. Then the Emperor gave me the Amulet and told me to find you before assassins struck him down. I did all I c-could to save him, b-but there were too many of them," I explained, tears welling up in my eyes as I recounted how the Emperor died. I wiped them away before they could fall. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Baurus. He was one of the Blades who were guiding the Emperor through the prison."

Jauffre took in what I said. "Hmm… and what exactly did the Emperor tell you before he died?"

I frowned, trying to recall Uriel Septim's last words. "Er, he told me to take the Amulet to you, because you alone know where to find his last son? He also told me that I needed to 'close shut the jaws of Oblivion' and stand against the 'Prince of Destruction'. I have no idea what any of that means…" I said.

Instead of saying anything, Jauffre just stood there. He no longer had his hand on his sword, so I assumed he no longer wanted to dice me to pieces. The silence was unbearable.

Finally, he said something. "Your story is incredibly unlikely," he began. My heart fell. Looked like it was prison for me again. "However, I believe you. Only the strange destiny of Uriel Septim could have brought you to me carrying the Amulet of Kings." I breathed a sigh of relief. So he had believed me after all. "Do you have any questions?"

I nodded. "What did the Emperor mean by 'close shut the jaws of Oblivion'?" I asked.

"His meaning is unclear to me as well. The Emperor seemed to perceive some threat from the demonic world of Oblivion. The Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, is one of the lords of Oblivion. But the mortal world is protected from the Daedra of Oblivion by magical barriers," Jauffre answered, shaking his head.

"Okay, so why is Oblivion a threat if we're protected from it?"

Jauffre sighed, clearly as confused by this situation as I was. "I'm not sure. Only the Emperors truly understand the meaning behind the rituals of coronation. The Amulet of Kings is ancient. Saint Alessia herself received it from the gods. It is a holy relic of great power. When an Emperor is crowned, he uses the Amulet to light the Dragonfires at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. With the Emperor dead and no new heir crowned, the Dragonfires in the Temple will be dark, for the first time in centuries. It may be that the Dragonfires protected us from a threat that only the Emperor was aware of."

Oh. This whole thing was worse than I thought. Did the Dragonfires perhaps serve as a catalyst for keeping the barriers between our world and Oblivion up? Whatever it was, I knew I had to find this last heir and have him light these Dragonfires before something really bad happened. But first I had to find him, which was not going to be easy without Jauffre's help. I had no idea what this heir looked like, where he lived, what he did for a living, nothing.

"The Emperor asked me to find his son," I said.

Jauffre nodded. "I am one of the few who know of his existence. Many years ago, I served as captain of Uriel's bodyguards, the Blades. One night Uriel called me in to his private chambers. A baby boy lay sleeping in a basket. Uriel told me to deliver him somewhere safe. He never told me anything else about the baby, but I knew it was his son. From time to time he would ask about the child's progress. Now, it seems that this illegitimate son is the heir to the Septim Throne. If he yet lives," he explained.

An illegitimate son… I wondered if this would cause any problems. Still, an illegitimate son was better than no son at all; it meant Tamriel still had an heir of Septim blood, which was important for some reason.

"An illegitimate son? Where can I find him, sir?"

"His name is Martin. He serves Akatosh in the Chapel in the city of Kvatch, south of here. You must go to Kvatch and find him at once. If the enemy is aware of his existence, as seems likely, he is in terrible danger. He has no idea of his heritage," Jauffre instructed. Yes, this helped a lot. I now had a name, a location, and an occupation, but I wondered if this Martin would believe me when I told him he was the Emperor's son.

I felt a sense of urgency hit me for the first time. This was a very dire situation, and I was hopelessly entangled in it. The fate of the empire rested in my hands and I couldn't afford to mess up. The feeling of _'Why me?'_ flared up again and I did my best to quell it. It didn't matter why it had been me of all people who got caught up in all of this; all that mattered was finding Martin and lighting the Dragonfires. I wasn't in this for any personal glory. I really hadn't been one for recognition in the first place. All I wanted was to get out of this situation alive, with my limbs and sanity intact. If that involved saving the empire, then I would save the empire, and I would do it well.

I nodded. "I think I understand. Do you want me to bring Martin here?" I asked.

"Yes, that would probably be the best idea. From there on, we can discuss what to do next, and where to bring him to ensure his safety. I'll keep the Amulet here until you return…" he trailed off, fixing me with a meaningful look. "You _are_ going to return, correct?"

I shrunk back a little. "Of course, sir! I may not have wanted to get tangled up in all of this to begin with, but I made a promise to the Emperor, and I intend to follow through on it!" I exclaimed, somewhat shocked at my own display of confidence. It was hard to believe at first, that I would risk my life to keep a promise to a man I had known all of fifteen minutes. Somehow, Uriel Septim's plea struck a chord in me; he was the first person in a long time to treat me with kindness, and I felt obligated to return said kindness.

I didn't regret leaving Valenwood; I had wanted to. I just hadn't expected the road ahead to be so difficult.

"Good. That was the sort of answer I expected," Jauffre said, and his voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Please, let me know if there's anything you need. My resources here are limited, but I will help in any way I can."

"Y-yeah. Uh, thanks," I replied. Jauffre got up and unlocked a chest that was sitting over against the rightmost wall. He motioned for me to look through it, which I cautiously did.

There wasn't much in here. There was a steel bow, which I swapped out my rusty iron one for, and some potions that I took. The armor in the chest was leather and iron, and I left those alone since I already had a full set of chainmail. After I was done going through the chest, I stood up and looked over at Jauffre, who had sat back down at his desk.

"Uh, thanks, again," I mumbled.

"Don't mention it. I keep supplies there to restock traveling Blades, and since you are on a mission for the Blades, it makes sense for me to allow you access to it," Jauffre answered. "Oh, by the way, did you mention Baurus?"

I nodded. "Yeah. What about him?"

Jauffre smiled. "I had been told that most of the Emperor's personal guard was killed in the attack, and I feared the worst. Baurus is one of the youngest Blades ever to serve in the Emperor's personal guard. I am glad to hear that he survived, but I fear he will take the Emperor's death particularly hard…" he elaborated.

I frowned. Baurus really had seemed to take Uriel Septim's death really hard, but there was nothing he could have done. If the Emperor's death was anyone's fault, it was mine, I thought sadly. What was Baurus doing right now? I hoped he was all right. He seemed like a nice enough guy; he was the only one of the guards who hadn't been outright hostile towards me.

"What exactly are the Blades? Baurus told me you were the Grandmaster of them?" I asked.

"Yes, Baurus told you right. I am the Grandmaster of the Blades. We serve the Emperor and the Septim bloodline. Talos is our patron," Jauffre answered confidently.

I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a priest?"

"You wonder to find me here? Discretion is our watchword. Only a few of us have the honor to serve publicly in the Imperial Guard," Jauffre informed.

I had all the information I needed, and it was time for me to set out and find Martin. "I see. Thank you for your help. I'll return with Martin as soon as I possibly can," I said, turning to leave.

"Waste no time. You must find him before the enemy does," Jauffre called after me.

I nodded a polite goodbye at Brother Piner as well and left the building.

What to do next? It really wasn't smart to just rush off to Kvatch; what I needed was a plan. Chorrol was only about an hour away, or so I had been told. I decided the next thing I had to do was stop there and restock on food. Since finding Martin was the priority, I didn't want to spend longer than a few days in any city.

I retrieved Mabel from the stablehand (who I learned was named Eronor. What a strange name for a Dunmer...) and set off down the path to Chorrol.

* * *

Fun fact: Eronor is mentioned as having a sister... who's a Bosmer. Hence the "strange name for a Dunmer" comment. Either the sister (Daigail over in Bravil, I think) was supposed to be a Dunmer, he was supposed to be a Bosmer, or they have different mothers but the same father. My personal headcanon is the last of the three.


End file.
